Semiconductor device with damascene bit line and method for fabricating the same

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device includes a substrate having a plurality of contact surfaces, an interlayer dielectric layer formed over the substrate and having a first open portion which exposes a part of the contact surfaces and a second open portion which exposes the other contact surfaces, a storage node contact (SNC) plug filling the first open portion, and a damascene structure filing the second open portion and including a bit line, a spacer formed on both sidewalls of the bit line, a capping layer formed over the bit line and the spacer, and an air gap formed between the bit line and the spacer. The bit line includes a conductive material of which the volume is contracted by a heat treatment to form the air gap.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority of Korean Patent Application No.10-2011-0104139, filed on Oct. 12, 2011, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a method forfabricating a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to asemiconductor device with a damascene bit line and a method forfabricating the same.

2. Description of the Related Art

Recently, with the increase in integration degree of semiconductordevices, the difficulty level of a self-aligned contact (SAC) processhas rapidly increased. The SAC process is performed for a storage nodecontact (SNC) plug after a bit line with a stacked structure is formed.In sub-30 nm memory devices, it may be difficult to secure an open areaof an SNC hole and a SAC fail may frequently occur, due to such areduction in process margin.

In order to solve such features, a damascene bit line process has beenproposed. In the damascene bit line process, an SNC plug is firstformed, and a bit line is subsequently formed.

In the damascene bit line process, two SNC plugs adjacent to each otherare formed at once, and then separated from each other through adamascene process. Then, a bit line is formed to fill the inside of thedamascene pattern. Through such a process, the SNC plugs may be moreeasily patterned than when the SNC plugs are separately formed.Furthermore, this process has an advantage in terms of the SAC fail,compared with a process in which the SNC plugs are formed later.

In the damascene bit line process, a spacer may be formed on thesidewalls of the bit line, in order to prevent the bit line and the SNCplugs from being short-circuited.

The spacer may be formed of a dielectric layer such as silicon nitrideor the like. Since the silicon nitride has a high dielectric constant,the silicon nitride may not be effective in suppressing parasiticcapacitance between the bit line and the SNC plugs.

SUMMARY

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are directed to asemiconductor device capable of reducing parasitic capacitance between abit line and SNC plugs and a method for fabricating the same.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, asemiconductor device includes a substrate having a plurality of contactsurfaces, an interlayer dielectric layer formed over the substrate andhaving a first open portion which exposes a part of the contact surfacesand a second open portion which exposes the other contact surfaces, anSNC plug filling the first open portion, and a damascene structurefiling the second open portion and including a bit line, a spacer formedon both sidewalls of the bit line, a capping layer formed over the bitline and the spacer, and an air gap formed between the bit line and thespacer. The bit line includes a conductive material of which the volumeis contracted by a heat treatment to form the air gap.

In accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, a method for fabricating a semiconductor device includesforming an interlayer dielectric layer over a semiconductor substrate,forming an open portion by etching the interlayer dielectric layer,forming a damascene structure including a bit line partially filling theopen portion, a spacer formed on both sidewalls of the bit line, and acapping layer formed over the bit line, and contracting the bit linethrough annealing to form an air gap between the bit line and thespacer.

In accordance with yet another exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, a method for fabricating a semiconductor device includesforming a preliminary first conductive pattern over a semiconductorsubstrate, forming an open portion to separate the preliminary firstconductive pattern into a plurality of independent first conductivepatterns, forming a damascene structure in the first portion, whereinthe damascene structure includes a second conductive pattern partiallyfilling the open portion, a spacer formed on both sidewalls of thesecond conductive pattern, and a capping layer formed over the secondconductive pattern, and contracting the second conductive patternthrough annealing to form an air gap between the second conductivepattern and the spacer.

In accordance with still another exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, a method for fabricating a semiconductor device includesforming an interlayer dielectric layer over a semiconductor substrate,forming a first open portion by etching the interlayer dielectric layer,forming a preliminary storage node contact (SNC) plug within the firstopen portion, forming a second open portion to separate the preliminarySNC plug into independent SNC plugs, forming a damascene structure inthe second open portion, wherein the damascene structure includes a bitline partially filling the second open portion, a spacer formed on bothsidewalk of the bit line, and a capping layer formed over the bit line,and contracting the bit line through annealing to form an air gapbetween the bit line and the spacer.

In accordance with still another exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, a method for fabricating a semiconductor device includesforming an interlayer dielectric layer on the surface of a semiconductorsubstrate having a buried gate structure buried therein and contactsurfaces, etching the interlayer dielectric layer and forming a firstopen portion to expose a part of the contact surfaces, forming apreliminary storage node contact SNC plug to fill the first openportion, etching the preliminary SNC plug and the interlayer dielectriclayer and forming a second open portion to separate the preliminary SNCplug into a plurality of SNC plugs, forming a damascene structure in theopen portion, wherein the damascene structure includes a bit line insidethe second open portion, a spacer formed on both sidewalls of the bitline, and a capping layer formed over the bit line and the spacer, andcontracting the bit line through annealing to form an air gap betweenthe bit line and the spacer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a plan view of a semiconductor device in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along a line A-AT shown in FIG.1A.

FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view taken along a line B-B′ shown in FIG.1A.

FIGS. 2A to 2I are diagrams illustrating a method for fabricating asemiconductor device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a semiconductor device in accordancewith a modified exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described belowin more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The presentinvention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete, and will fully convey the scope of the present invention tothose skilled in the art. Throughout the disclosure, like referencenumerals refer to like parts throughout the various figures andembodiments of the present invention.

The drawings are not necessarily to scale and in some instances,proportions may have been exaggerated in order to clearly illustratefeatures of the embodiments. When a first layer is referred to as being“on” a second layer or “on” a substrate, it not only refers to a casewhere the first layer is formed directly on the second layer or thesubstrate but also a case where a third layer exists between the firstlayer and the second layer or the substrate.

FIG. 1A is a plan view of a semiconductor device in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1B is across-sectional view taken along a line A-A′ shown in FIG. 1A. FIG. 1Cis a cross-sectional view taken along a line B-B′ shown in FIG. 1A.

Referring to FIGS. 1A to 1C, the semiconductor device in accordance withthe exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a buried gatestructure including a buried gate BG and a damascene structure includinga bit line 33B. The buried gate structure includes a gate trench G1, agate dielectric layer G2, a buried gate BG, and a sealing layer G3. Thedamascene structure includes a bit line 33B, a spacer 36 formed on thesidewalls of the bit line 33B, a capping layer 34 formed over the bitline 33B and the spacer 31A, and an air gap formed between the bit line33B and the spacer 31A.

The structure of the semiconductor device in accordance with theexemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in moredetail hereinafter.

An isolation layer 22 is formed in a semiconductor substrate 21. Anactive region 23 is defined by the isolation layer 22. First and secondlanding plugs 24A and 24B are formed over the active region 23. Storagenode contact (SNC) plugs 28A and 28B are formed over the first landingplugs 24A, respectively. A bit line 33B is formed over the secondlanding plug 24B. The SNC plugs 28A and 28B are isolated by the bit line33B. That is, the bit line 33B is formed between the SNC plugs 28A and28B. The bit line 33B and the SNC plugs 28A and 28B are formed in theinterlayer dielectric layer 25. The bit line 33B is referred to as adamascene bit line. The capping layer 34 is formed over the bit line33B. Between the bit line 33B and the SNC plugs 28A and 28B, the air gap36 and the spacer 31A are formed. The spacer 31A includes a dielectriclayer such as silicon nitride or silicon oxide. The SNC plugs 28A and28B include a polysilicon layer. A symbol BG represents a buried gate.

According to the above-described structure, the air gap 36 and thespacer 31A are arranged between the SNC plugs 28A and 28B and the bitline 33B. As the air gap 36 is formed between the SNC plugs 28A and 28Band the bit line 33B, parasitic capacitance between the storage nodecontact plugs 28A and 28B and the bit line 33B may be reduced in aneffective manner.

The air gap 36 is formed by volume contraction of the bit line 33B. Thebit line 33B includes a conductive material of which the volume iscontracted by heat. The conductive material may include one or moreselected from the group consisting of titanium nitride, tungstennitride, and tungsten.

FIGS. 2A to 2I are diagrams illustrating a method for fabricating asemiconductor device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. FIGS. 2A to 2I are cross-sectional views taken alonga line A-A′ shown in FIG. 1A.

Referring to FIG. 2A, an isolation layer 22 is formed in a semiconductorsubstrate 21. The isolation layer 22 is formed by a well-known shallowtrench isolation (STI) process. The isolation layer 22 may be formed ofa high density plasma (HDP) oxide layer or a spin-on dielectric (SOD)layer. The active region 23 is defined by the isolation layer 22. Theactive region 23 may be formed in an island type which is arranged in adiagonal direction as shown in the plan view. Although not illustrated,a buried gate process may be performed after the isolation layer 22 isformed. Since the buried gate BG is not illustrated along the line A-A′,the buried gate process may be performed by referring to a well-knownmethod. For example, referring to FIG. 1C, the buried gate BG is formedin a gate trench G1 formed in the semiconductor substrate 21. The gatedielectric layer G2 is formed on the surface of the gate trench G1. Theburied gate BG partially fills the gate trench G1, and the sealing layerG3 is formed over the gate dielectric layer G2. As a result, the gatetrench G1, the gate dielectric layer G2, the buried gate BG, and thesealing layer G3 form the buried gate structure. The buried gatestructure is buried in the semiconductor substrate 21.

The semiconductor substrate 21 has a plurality of contact surfaces ofwhich reference numeral is omitted. For example, the contact surfacesmay include a contact surface for a bit line contact and a contactsurface for an SNC. The buried gate structure is buried in thesemiconductor substrate 21 between the contact surfaces. The contactsurface is defined on the surface of the active region 23.

The landing plugs 24A and 24B are formed on the respective contactsurfaces. For the illustrative purpose, the landing plug 24A is referredto as a first landing plug 24A which is to be coupled to an SNC plug,and the landing plug 24B is referred to as a second landing plug 24Bwhich is to be coupled to a bit line. The first and second landing plugs24A and 24B may be self-aligned with the isolation layer 22. The firstand second landing plugs 24A and 24B include a polysilicon layer. Thefirst and second landing plugs 24A and 24B are formed only on thesurfaces of the active region 23.

In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the first andsecond landing plugs 24A and 24B may be formed before the isolationlayer 22 is formed. For example, a conductive layer used as the firstand second landing plugs 24A and 24B may be formed, and then etchedthrough an STI process to form the first and second landing plugs 24Aand 24B. Then, using the first and second landing plugs 24A and 24B asan etch barrier, the semiconductor substrate 21 is etched to formtrenches, and the isolation layer 22 is then formed to fill thetrenches.

In another exemplary embodiment, the first and second landing plugs 24Aand 24B may not be formed. That is, the bit line contact plug and theSNC plugs may be directly contacted with the active region.

On the entire surface of the resultant structure including the first andsecond landing plugs 24A and 24B, an interlayer dielectric layer 25 isformed. The interlayer dielectric layer 25 includes an oxide layer suchas boron phosphorus silicate glass (BPSG). The interlayer dielectriclayer 25 may be formed by stacking oxide and nitride or formed bysequentially stacking oxide, nitride, and oxide.

The interlayer dielectric layer 25 is etched using an SNC mask 26 as anetch barrier. Accordingly, a first open portion 27 is formed to open theadjacent two landing plugs, i.e., the first landing plugs 24A over theactive region 23. For example, the first open portion 27 may be referredto as a merged SNC hole. That is, the first open portion 27 is providedby forming the respective SNC holes at the same time. The first openportion 27 may have such a shape as to simultaneously open the firstlanding plugs 24A adjacent in a direction parallel to the buried gateBG.

Referring to FIG. 2B, the SNC mask 26 is removed. Then, a preliminaryfirst conductive pattern buried in the first open portion 27, forexample, a preliminary SNC plug 28 is formed. In order to form thepreliminary SNC plug 28, a polysilicon layer is deposited as a firstconductive layer, and a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process oran etch-back process is performed.

Referring to FIG. 2C, a damascene mask 29 is formed. The damascene mask29 is a mask for separating the preliminary SNC plug 28 and forming adamascene pattern in which a bit line is to be formed. The damascenemask 29 includes a photoresist layer pattern or hard mask layer pattern.Hereafter, the damascene mask 29 is referred to as a hard mask layerpattern 29. The hard mask layer pattern 29 includes nitride such assilicon nitride.

The preliminary SNC plug 28 and the interlayer dielectric layer 25 areetched using the hard mask layer pattern 29 as an etch barrier.Accordingly, a second open portion 30 referred to as a damascene patternis formed, and two first conductive patterns, for example, SNC plugs 28Aand 28B, which are isolated by the second open portion 30, are formed.Furthermore, the second open portion 30 exposes the second landing plug24B and the isolation layer 22. In order to form the second open portion30, the preliminary SNC plug 28 is first etched, and the interlayerdielectric layer 25 is then etched. Alternatively, the interlayerdielectric layer 25 may be first etched, and the preliminary SNC plug 28may be then etched. Alternatively, the interlayer dielectric layer 25and the preliminary SNC plug 28 may be simultaneously etched. The secondopen portion 30 is formed in a line type including a portion whichexposes the second landing plug 24B and a portion which is formedbetween the SNC plugs 28A and 28B. In other words, the second openportion 30 is a line-type trench pattern which provides a space where abit line is to be formed.

Referring to FIG. 2D, a spacer 31 is formed to expose a bit line contactsurface 31A. The spacer 31 is formed by the following process: a spacerlayer is formed on the entire surface of the resultant structureincluding the second open portion 30 and then selectively removed. Thespacer layer includes a dielectric layer such as silicon nitride orsilicon oxide. For example, the bit line contact surface 31A correspondsto the surface of the second landing plug 24B.

Such a spacer 31 exposes the bit line contact surface 31A and is formedon the entire surface of the other area. For example, the spacer 31remains on the surface of the isolation layer 22 between the SNC plugs28A and 28B. Accordingly, a bit line and the first landing plug 24A aresubstantially prevented from being shorted. An additional mask (notillustrated) is used to leave the spacer 31 on the bottom surfacebetween the SNC plugs 28A and 28B. The additional mask is a bit linecontact mask which is patterned in such a manner as to selectivelyexpose only the second landing plug 24B. The spacer 31 becomes a bitline spacer.

Referring to FIG. 2E, ion implantation is performed to secure bit linecontact resistance. Then, a metal silicide 32 for ohmic contact isformed. The metal silicide 32 is formed by depositing and annealing arefractory metal. An unreacted refractory metal is stripped and removed.The refractory metal includes titanium, and may be formed by stackingtitanium and titanium nitride. The refractory metal may be formed bychemical vapor deposition (CVD) or physical vapor deposition (PVD). Whenthe reacted refractory metal contains titanium, an SPM cleaning processincluding sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide is used to strip theunreacted refractory metal. The metal silicide 32 may include titaniumsilicide.

Referring to FIG. 2F, a conductive layer 33 is formed on the entiresurface of the resultant structure so as to fill the second open portion30. At this time, the conductive layer 33 is a material to be used as abit line. The conductive layer 33 is formed of a material which iscontacted by a subsequent thermal process. Furthermore, the conductivelayer 33 has low resistance to improve the resistance of the bit line.Desirably, the conductive layer 33 includes one or more selected fromthe group consisting of titanium nitride (TiN), tungsten nitride (WN),and tungsten (W). For example, the conductive layer 33 may be formed ofonly titanium nitride. Alternatively, the conductive layer 33 may beformed by stacking tungsten nitride and tungsten. The tungsten nitrideand tungsten are formed using a metal organic source.

As the low-resistance metal-containing material is used as theconductive layer 33, the resistance of the bit line may be reduce. Aswill be described below, the conductive layer 33 is formed of a materialof which the volume is contacted by heat, in order to provide an airgap. Here, the volume contraction occurs due to grain growth oragglomeration.

Referring to FIG. 2G, the conductive layer 33 is recessed. As theconductive layer 33 is recessed, a second conductive pattern, forexample, a bit line 33A is formed. After the conductive layer 33 isrecessed, the spacer 31 is recessed. Therefore, the bit line 33A and thespacer 31A are formed inside the second open portion 30 shown in FIG.2E.

When the bit line 33A is formed in such a manner, the spacer 31A isdeposited between the bit line 33A and the SNC plugs 28A and 29A.

Meanwhile, the process for recessing the conductive layer 33 may beperformed by sequentially applying a CMP process and an etch-backprocess. Furthermore, after the conductive layer 33 and the spacer 31are recessed, the hard mask layer pattern 29 is removed.

Referring to FIG. 2H, a capping layer 34 is formed to gap-fill a spaceover the bit line 33A. Then, an isolation process such as CMP is used toform the capping layer 34 within the second open portion. The cappinglayer 34 includes silicon nitride formed by a plasma-enhanced CVD(PECVD) method. Furthermore, the capping layer 34 may include an oxidelayer such as silicon oxide.

Referring to FIG. 2I, a thermal process 35 is performed. At this time,the thermal process 35 is performed by rapid thermal processing (RTP) ora furnace heat treatment. The RTP is performed at a temperature of500˜1100° C. for 1˜200 seconds, and the heat treatment atmosphereincludes one or more gases selected from N₂, O₂, NH₃, and Ar. Thefurnace heat treatment is performed at a temperature of 500˜1000° C. for1˜180 minutes, and the heat treatment atmosphere includes one or moregases selected from N₂, O₂, NH₃, and Ar.

The volume of the bit line 33A is contracted by the above-describedthermal process 35. That is, grain growth and agglomeration occur in thematerial used as the bit line 33A. Therefore, an air gap 36 is formedbetween the contracted bit line 33B and the spacer 31A.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a semiconductor device in accordancewith a modified exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

In the semiconductor device in accordance with the modified exemplaryembodiment of the present invention, an air gap 36A may be formedbetween the bit line 33B and the spacer 31A, and simultaneously, an airgap 36B may be formed at the interface between the capping layer 34 andthe bit line 33B. Furthermore, an air gap 36C may be formed between thespacer 31A and the bit line 33 on the bottom between the SNC plugs 28Aand 28B. As such, the air gaps 36A, 36B, and 36C may be formed at thesidewalls and the upper and lower portions of the bit line 33B. Sincethe lower portion of the bit line 33B is contacted with the metalsilicide 32, lifting does not occur.

The air gaps 36B and 36C formed at the upper and lower portions of thebit line 33B do not have an effect upon the bit line resistancecharacteristic. Furthermore, since a critical dimension (CD) between theupper portion of the bit line 33A and the capping layer 34 is small, theair gap 36B may be formed.

In accordance with the above-described embodiments, the damascenestructure is formed in the second open portion. The damascene structureincludes the bit line 33B, the spacer 31A formed on both sidewalls ofthe bit line 33B, the capping layer 34 formed over the bit line 33B andthe spacer 31A, and the air gap 36 formed between the bit line 33B andthe spacer 31A. Furthermore, the damascene structure is formed withinthe dielectric layers filling the second open portion, and includes thebit line 33B which is isolated from the dielectric layers by the air gap36. Here, the dielectric layers include the capping layer 34 and thespacer 31A.

In the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the methodfor forming an air gap to reduce parasitic capacitance between the bitline and the SNC plugs has been described. However, the presentinvention may be applied to a method for reducing parasitic capacitancebetween neighboring conductive patterns during a process for fabricatinga memory such as DRAM or Flash. Here, the conductive pattern may includea gate, a contact plug, metal interconnections and so on. Furthermore,the conductive pattern may include a material of which the volume iscontracted by heat.

In accordance with the exemplary embodiments of the present invention,the volume contraction of the bit line is used to form an air gapbetween the bit line and the SNC plugs. Therefore, parasitic capacitancemay decrease due to a low dielectric constant of the air gap.

Furthermore, a low-resistance metal-containing material may be used toform the bit line, and simultaneously, the air gap may be formed betweenthe bit line and the spacer. Therefore, parasitic capacitance may bereduced, and bit line resistance may be improved. Accordingly, anoperation margin of cells may be secured and the device characteristicmay be improved in an effective manner.

While the present invention has been described with respect to thespecific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat various changes and modifications may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor device comprising: a substratehaving a plurality of contact surfaces; an interlayer dielectric layerformed over the substrate and having a first open portion which exposesa part of the contact surfaces and a second open portion which exposesthe other contact surfaces; a storage node contact (SNC) plug fillingthe first open portion; and a damascene structure filing the second openportion and comprising a bit line, a spacer formed on both sidewalls ofthe bit line, a capping layer formed over the bit line and the spacer,and an air gap, wherein the air gap is formed between the bit line andthe spacer, and formed at the entire interface between the capping layerand the bit line.
 2. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein thebit line comprises a conductive material of which the volume iscontracted by a heat treatment to form the air gap.
 3. The semiconductordevice of claim 2, wherein the conductive material comprises at leastone selected from the group consisting of titanium nitride, tungstennitride, and tungsten.
 4. The semiconductor device of claim 2, furthercomprising a buried gate formed, in the substrate, between the contactsurfaces.
 5. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the secondopen portion has a line shape to expose a first portion between twoadjacent contact surfaces among the other contact surfaces, and the airgap surrounds the bit line in a region overlapping with the firstportion.